The proposed gondola project in downtown Los Angeles would transport 5,000 people per hour in each direction.
A state appeals court has grounded a gondola transit project that would link Union Station in downtown Los Angeles with Dodger Stadium, concluding that LA Metro provided inadequate construction noise mitigation in its project approval.
The Second Appellate District Court on May 1 reversed an earlier Los Angeles County Superior Court ruling that rejected a lawsuit challenging the project proposed by Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies LLC. That lawsuit, filed by the Los Angeles Parks Alliance, argued that the project proposed by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt did not consider transit alternatives, would cause significant land-use harm to Los Angeles State Historic Park and failed to minimize construction noise.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) was also not the proper lead agency to handle and approve the project and its environmental impact report (EIR), according to the plaintiff.
“We find most of these contentions unpersuasive,” the appeals court said in its opinion. “We do, however, agree with petitioners that Metro’s analysis of measures to mitigate the project’s significant construction noise impacts was inadequate and the agency prejudicially abused its discretion by failing to engage in timely and sufficient efforts to consult with a state agency having jurisdiction by law over natural resources held in trust for the people of this state.”
The appeals court remanded the case to the county court’s jurisdiction and ordered the trial court to direct LA Metro to cancel its certification of the project’s EIR and the agency’s approval of the project. LA Metro will also be required to consult with the state agency that oversees jurisdiction over the natural resources along the project route – the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy – the appeals court said.
LA Metro said it would honor the appeals court ruling and set aside approval of the gondola plans until the EIR is updated.
“We will coordinate with the project sponsor to evaluate next steps,” a Metro spokesman told the Southern California Record. “No Metro funds will be used to pay for a revised EIR or the transit project.”
Jon Christensen, a founding member of the LA Parks Alliance, expressed gratitude for the court’s review of the group’s appeal.
“Our communities deserve a process that is transparent and thorough,” Christensen told the Record in an email. “This decision potentially allows for another year for serious review. We cannot allow billionaires like McCourt to usurp public resources, grab taxpayer-funded park space and irreparably harm important and historic community resources, including El Pueblo, LA State Historic Park and Elysian Park, and communities, including Chinatown.”
He characterized the gondola project as a proposal that no one asked for and no one needs and said opponents would use every means at their disposal to protect communities and resources that could be harmed by the project.
Proponents argue that the proposed Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit project would produce zero emissions and efficiently transport people between Union Station and Dodger Stadium in seven minutes. It would also take up to 3,000 cars off the roads on Dodger game days, according to Zero Emission Transit, which would build the gondola system.
Each gondola cabin would hold 30 to 40 passengers and travel at a speed of 13.4 miles per hour, according to the project developers. The privately funded project would have the ability to transport 5,000 people per hour in each direction.
The appeals court also said LA Metro would be required to prepare and certify a supplemental EIR to address all of the corrective actions mandated by the court.
